Freeware discussion

A few articles from the freeware discussion newsgroup. Mind you - one doesn't need to read it here in Sixteen Bits each month. Just browse the newsgroup alt.comp.freewarediscussion


Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta1)

As Terry said in the March 2005 issue: Microsoft's currently free anti-spyware is being received enthusiastically, and is available from:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

It scans memory, files, registry and cookies, and remains resident. It can be run manually like AdAware or Spybot S&D or scheduled for a specific time. My two computers have each revealed XferPro to scans by MS AntiSpyware twice in about a month. This is a Trojan downloader that is classed as a high threat and has obviously bypassed all other security optons I am taking.

Microsoft have announced that AntiSpyware will remain free and supported with the release soon of the post-beta version.

A more up to date version has been released, so it might pay uninstall; re-download it, and install again. Reboot after uninstallation, and reinstallation.


File Explorers
I have never been happy with Microsoft's Windows Explorer as a file and folder manager. Even Norton Commander back in the dark ages was a superior utility and, fortunately, many third parties have developed that to quite outstanding capabilities. One of the best, and free, file managers for several years has been PowerDesk5. But that has unfortunately been discontinued - though it is still available on some archives - and on my computers has started to show signs of instability as the operating system is updated. So I had a look around for a replacement and found two acceptable contenders.
I have adopted xplorer2 from http://www.zabkat.com/, which is a powerful program offering many of the features of PowerDesk5 such as dual panes with horizontal or vertical alignment plus some new ones. It comes with a basic 112KB help file in HTML format. Or full documentation in a 2.4MB PDF file is available for download. This should suit advanced users who need more than what Explorer offers and are prepared to devote the time to learning its capabilities. A much simpler but still capable manager for computer novices is FileExplorer from http://www.freesoftlabs.com/. I recommend this to anyone wanting a better file manager without a steep learning curve.


ScamBusters
Internet ScamBusters is a free newsletter on Internet fraud, showing the ins and outs of protecting yourself from all the newest scams. It's a public service, published 2 to 4 times a month as an email newsletter, and provides you with a lively, entertaining and opinionated approach to protecting yourself online and offline.
It covers computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, scumware, etc., and the damage they cause; symptoms of virus infection; how they infect computers; and the differences between real virus and hoaxes.

http://www.scambusters.org/



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